India's national anthem, composed by Rabindranath tagore, is another expression of the unity of INDIA. In what way does the national anthem describe this unity?

A national anthem (also national hymn, song etc.) is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. The majority of national anthems are either marches or hymns in style. The countries of Latin America tend towards more operatic pieces, while a handful of countries use a simple fanfare.^[1]

Although national anthems are usually in the most common language of the country, whether de facto or official, there are notable exceptions. India's anthem, "Jana Gana Mana", is in a highly Sanskritized version of Bengali. States with more than one national language may offer several versions of their anthem: For instance, Switzerland's anthem has different lyrics for each of the country's four official languages (French, German, Italian and Romansh). Canada's national anthem has different lyrics for both of the country's official languages (English and French), and on some occasions is sung with a mixture of stanzas taken from its French and English versions. The Sri Lankan national anthem has translated lyrics for each of the country's official languages Sinhala and Tamil. It was actually written inSinhala, but a Tamil translation is also played on some occasions and mostly played in Tamil Provinces and Tamil schools. On the other hand, South Africa'snational anthem is unique in that five of the country's eleven official languages are used in the same anthem (the first stanza is divided between two languages, with each of the remaining three stanzas in a different language). Apart from God Save the Queen, the New Zealand national anthem is now traditionally sung with the first verse in Māori (Aotearoa) and the second in English (God Defend New Zealand). The tune is the same but the words are not a direct translation of each other. Another multilingual country, Spain, has no words in its anthem, La Marcha Real, although in 2007 a national competition to write words was unsuccessfully launched.^[2]

 ational anthems are used in a wide array of contexts. They are played on national holidays and festivals, and have also come to be closely connected with sporting events. During sporting competitions, such as the Olympic Games, the national anthem of the gold medal winner is played at each medal ceremony; also played before games in many sports leagues, since being adopted in baseball during World War II.^[4] When teams from two different nations play each other, the anthems of both nations are played, the host nation's anthem being played last. The use of a national anthem outside of its country, however, is dependent on the international recognition of that country. For instance, the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) has not been recognized by the Olympics as a separate nation since 1979 and must compete as Chinese Taipei; its National Banner Song is used instead of its national anthem.^[5] In the Republic of China, the National Anthem is sungbefore instead of during flag-rising and flag-lowering.

In some countries, the national anthem is played to students each day at the start of school as an exercise in patriotism. In other countries the anthem may be played in a theatre before a play or in a cinema before a movie. Many radio and television stations have adopted this and play the national anthem when they sign onin the morning and again when they sign off at night. For instance, the nation anthem of the People's Republic of China is played before the broadcast of evening news on Hong Kong's local television stations including TVB and ATV Home.^[6]

There may also be royal anthems, presidential anthems, state anthems, etc. for special occasions.

Certain etiquette may be involved in the playing of a country's anthem. These usually involve military honours, standing up, removing headwear, etc. In diplomatic situations the rules may be very formal.

A national anthem (also national hymn, song etc.) is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation 's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. The majority of national anthems are either marches or hymns in style. The countries of Latin America tend towards more operatic pieces, while a handful of countries use a simple fanfare. ^[1]

Although national anthems are usually in the most common language of the country, whether de facto or official, there are notable exceptions. India 's anthem, "Jana Gana Mana", is in a highly Sanskritized version of Bengali. States with more than one national language may offer several versions of their anthem: For instance, Switzerland 's anthem has different lyrics for each of the country 's four official languages (French, German, Italian and Romansh). Canada 's national anthem has different lyrics for both of the country 's official languages (English and French), and on some occasions is sung with a mixture of stanzas taken from its French and English versions. The Sri Lankan national anthem has translated lyrics for each of the country 's official languages Sinhala and Tamil. It was actually written inSinhala, but a Tamil translation is also played on some occasions and mostly played in Tamil Provinces and Tamil schools. On the other hand, South Africa 'snational anthem is unique in that five of the country 's eleven official languages are used in the same anthem (the first stanza is divided between two languages, with each of the remaining three stanzas in a different language). Apart from God Save the Queen, the New Zealand national anthem is now traditionally sung with the first verse in Māori (Aotearoa) and the second in English (God Defend New Zealand). The tune is the same but the words are not a direct translation of each other. Another multilingual country, Spain, has no words in its anthem, La Marcha Real, although in 2007 a national competition to write words was unsuccessfully launched. ^[2]